Jekyll's Mirror by William Hussey
| Jekyll's Mirror by William Hussey | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Jill Murphy
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| Summary: Crazy ride of a supernatural horror story taking the classic tale of Jekyll and Hyde as its theme. It tackles cyber-bullying and domestic violence in a clever and powerful way. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 288 | Date: January 2015 |
| Publisher: OUP Oxford | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 019273251X | |
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Sam is doing his best but he feels the Wrath inside him all the time. If your father had beaten your mother to death, wouldn't you? He tries to concentrate on schoolwork and his art and keep that anger locked away deep down inside, but it's not easy. His aunt Cora does her best to support him but his uncle Lionel is distrustful, sure that the (violent) apple in Sam hasn't fallen far from (his father's) tree.
When Sam's English teacher chooses him and several other students to take part in a special task, Sam applies himself with gusto. Anything to get himself into a good university, and further away from a troubled past. Project Hyde is a new social networking site where users are free to speak their true feelings, however dark. The other users are only avatars, after all. This freedom speaks to the Wrath inside Sam and he enjoys it at first.
But the strange girl he meets one night has a story to tell. And Sam notices that his fellow Project Hyders are becoming addicted to the game and their own cruel behaviour. Who is behind Project Hyde? Can Sam and Cassandra prevent disaster? And will Sam ever come to terms with his past?
Ooh! Jekyll's Mirror is a crazy whirlwhind of a supernatural horror story. It takes Robert Louis Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde as its theme. Sam is studying the story at school. The social networking site in the special project given to him by his teacher is named after the story. And Sam's hidden anger is his very own dark alter ego. The horror side of the story is great - full of blood and guts and nasty villains with evil intentions. But the story also tackles some very kitchen sink themes - cyber-bullying and domestic abuse.
It's not easy to marry these very different strands but Hussey manages it really well. You race through the story, thoroughly entertained by the schlocky narrative but underneath that, you're always hoping that Sam will find a resolution for his "real world" problems.
We all have a dark side. And Jekyll's Mirror shows us how pernicious it can be if we don't acknowledge it.
You might also enjoy Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley, which is based on another classic tale: Frankenstein. And we loved Savannah Grey: A Horror Story by Cliff McNish. You might appreciate The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp but we had our reservations.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Jekyll's Mirror by William Hussey at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Jekyll's Mirror by William Hussey at Amazon.com.
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